236 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[September, igi6. 



SELECTING SEEDLINGS. 



IF in former times seedling Orchids were 

 few and far between, their presence was 

 a continued source of pleasure to the 

 owner as well as wonderment to the visitor. 

 But the difficulties experienced in the past 

 have given place to results of so satisfactory 

 a nature that in the words of a well-known 

 raiser success now smiles upon us. 



The amount of success that comes to an 

 individual engaged in the interesting work of 

 seed-raising is judged according to the 

 number of seedlings he requires. Thus, an 

 amateur may justly be pleased with lOO 

 seedlings from some particular seed-pod, and 

 if from these he succeeds in growing on and 

 flowering fifty then satisfaction is obtained. 

 But a trade grower with his exhibition needs 

 and wide circle of customers would more 

 likely require 1,000 seedlings, of which 750 

 might well be expected to ultimately reach 

 the flowering stage. 



It is common knowledge that some genera 

 are more easily raised than others, and, 

 further, that certain species are particularly 

 vigorous and produce seed which germinates 

 rapidly and in such immense quantities that 

 only a small proportion of the tiny seedlings 

 are pricked off for future requirements. 

 Whether it be the amateur who wants but 

 fifty or the trade grower who desires ten or 

 twenty times the number, each class of 

 raiser, in order to keep within the limits of 

 his stage accommodation, generally finds it 

 necessary to select the number he requires 

 and to discard the remainder, which in some 

 seed-pans will amount to thousands and even 

 tens of thousands. 



The question of deciding which seedlings 

 to select and which to discard is one of great 

 importance, far more so than it may on first 

 thoughts appear to amateurs. Consider the 

 Sophronitis hybrids, in which the intention of 

 the hybridist was to produce large flowers of 

 scarlet colour, and with what results, the 

 seedlings vary in size as much as the flowers 

 do in colour. One fact, however, always 

 comes out prominently in the general results 

 — when the seedlings resemble the habit of 



the Sophronitis parent then do the flowers 

 show the greatest tendency to inherit the 

 required scarlet colour ; the seedlings which 

 grow the strongest and most closely resemble 

 the other parent are fairly certain to yield tne 

 largest flowers, but they do not carry forward 

 the required colour. Hence, it is readily seen 

 that in selecting for future cultivation the 

 seedlings from a Sophronitis cross it is 

 necessary to pick out not the strongest 

 or largest in size, but those which most 

 closely resemble the habit of the Sophronitis 

 parent. 



There are several strong distinguishing 

 points which serve as guides to the selection 

 of certain characters. Mention may be made 

 of the long bulbs of Laelia cinnabarina, L. 

 harpophylla, Cattleya intermedia and C. 

 Loddigesii ; also of the shorter bulbs, as seen 

 in C. labiata and others of its section. Then 

 there is the difference in the foliage, some 

 species bearing but a single leaf, while others 

 carry two and sometimes three. These char- 

 acteristics are nearly all visible in the early 

 stages of the seedling's existence, and the 

 seed-raiser is thus considerably assisted in 

 distinguishing and pricking out the very 

 seedlings which will m the majority of cases 

 produce the anticipated qualities in their 

 flowers. 



It is the custom among certain raisers to 

 prick-off the required number of seedlings 

 from any particular sowing as soon as they 

 are large enough to be conveniently handled, 

 the remainder are then thrown away. This 

 method has much to commend itself as 

 regards selecting vigorous plants, that is, 

 seedlings which will rapidly reach the flower- 

 ing stage and also prove suitable for amateurs, 

 for it is of little use raising fine hybrids if their 

 constitution is so poor that very few- 

 amateurs can keep them alive for more than 

 two or three seasons. Hence, in selecting 

 the most vigorous seedlings from the seed- 

 pan, consideration should always be given to 

 the parentage involved. In many instances 

 the qualities desired to be perpetuated belong 

 to a vigorous parent, and in this case 

 the cultivator acts wisely in selecting the 

 strongest seedlings. 



